Senate Confirms First Indian-American United States Court of Appeals Judge

On May 23, 2013, the United States Senate by a vote of 97-0 confirmed Indian-American Srikanth Srinivasan to a judgeship on the D.C. Court of Appeals. "Sri is a trailblazer who personifies the best of America. Now he will serve with distinction on the federal bench," President Obama said of Srinivasan. Srinivasan takes the bench as the nation's first South Asian to serve on the United States Court of Appeals. Prior to his appointment, Srinivasan was the Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States. Srinivasan's previous positions include clerking for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, working as an associate and later a partner for O'Melveny & Myers LLP, and serving as Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States.

Srinivasan is recognized as one of the nation's leading advocates before the Supreme Court, having presented oral arguments before this Nation's highest court twenty times and having submitted briefs in several dozen additional cases. Born in Chandigarh, India, Srinivasan grew up in Lawrence, Kansas. He received his J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1995. With the potential for President Obama to appoint a Supreme Court Justice during what remains of his second term, Srinivasan is certainly a name to keep in mind.